The Publishing Spectrum

The Publishing Spectrum

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The Publishing Spectrum
The Publishing Spectrum
Editorial Branding Checklist: 21 Places Your Words Really Matter On Substack
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Editorial Branding Checklist: 21 Places Your Words Really Matter On Substack

And how to think creatively about them without burning or bumming out

Amanda B. Hinton's avatar
Amanda B. Hinton
Nov 30, 2023
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The Publishing Spectrum
The Publishing Spectrum
Editorial Branding Checklist: 21 Places Your Words Really Matter On Substack
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Your support keeps high-quality Substack strategies accessible and helps sustain this work for more aspiring publishers.

Roll up your sleeves, dear writers. If you’re on Substack and hoping to find readers to gather around your writing, then there’s work to be done! 

This post is for writers in a season of tending—that means your craft is honed and you’re ready to actively bring your writing into the world.

Today I’m working as your hands-on editor, equipping you to think creatively about how readers perceive your writing outside the essays you write.

OK, take a deep breath. The list is long. 

There are 21 places on Substack that have a direct impact on how readers experience you as a writer and your newsletter. They each take time, intention and discernment. They take some experimentation. And they each need to be tried on like a new coat to make sure they fit right. 

By giving each element below the time and creativity it deserves, you’ll be offering the weary, fatigued (not to mention busy) online reader a place to rest and soak in the goodness of your essay writing. There will be a polish, a seamlessness and a joy in the reader experience you create.

At the end of this piece, I’ll share a link to a Google Doc Checklist that you can copy/paste and use to keep track of your editorial work in your own time.

So here we go!

  1. Your writer bio*

  2. Your @ Substack handle*

  3. Publication name

  4. Short (publication) description

  5. About page

  6. Email address for RSS feeds

  7. Welcome email to paid subscribers

  8. Welcome email to free subscribers

  9. Welcome email to founding subscribers 

  10. Free subscriber benefits (1 line)

  11. Paid subscriber benefits (3 lines)

  12. Founding member benefits (1 line)

  13. Subscription renewal email

  14. “Subscription expired” email

  15. Email sender name

  16. Email banner, header, and footer settings

  17. Email opt-out page

  18. Publication introduction

  19. Opt out message on the welcome page

  20. Upsell email to engaged subscribers

  21. Referral gift grant email

Let’s dive in, one-by-one, through the list

*Except for the first two asterisked items—writer bio and writer @ Substack handle—everything can be edited by clicking into the writer dashboard and then clicking on Settings. I’ve also listed everything in the order they show up on the Settings page, so it should be easy to navigate to the next thing on the list. You can always use ctrl+F or command+F to find the piece you want to edit on the Settings page.

  1. Your writer bio*

One to two sentences long. This should include descriptors of who you are, not just adjectives. I like to make use of the vertical bar in writer bios to differentiate between “who you are” and “what you do” information. The vertical bar looks like this: |

  1. Your @ Substack handle*

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